The Iranian Embassy in Madrid has clarified a much-publicized report stating that football star Cristiano Ronaldo was sentenced to 99 lashes for hugging his ardent fan Fatemeh Hamami Nasrabadi during a visit to Iran.
Fatemeh is a female painter from Iran, and, due to her physical disability, she has painted pictures of football players with her feet.
As reported by various media, Ronaldo was in Iran last month to play in Al-Nassr’s Asian Champions League game against Persepolis on September 19, but before the match happened, he was greeted by several fans who showered him with gifts.
One of them included painter Fatemeh Hamami, who handed over two ultra-realistic drawings of the 38-year-old footballer and, as a thank you, Ronaldo embraced her and gave her a peck on the forehead.
In Iran, it’s reportedly considered adultery to touch another woman while in a relationship. It is global knowledge that Ronaldo has been in a longtime relationship with Georgina Rodriguez.
Following the speculative news, however, a clarification was put out by the Iranian embassy in Madrid which said that Ronaldo has not been sentenced to 99 lashes for embracing Fatemeh Hamami.
The embassy added that the footballer’s meeting with the artist was well accepted by everyone in the country.
The footballer has not responded to the speculation.
See the video of the Ronaldo-Fatemeh encounter, courtesy @AlNassrFC:
